Historical question sparks heated debate: Did Denmark steal Greenland from Norway?
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Donald Trump and his administration are once again floating the idea of taking over Greenland.
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This has led several social media users, as well as his chief of staff, to question Denmark’s historical relationship with Greenland.
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On social media, it is claimed, among other things, that “Denmark stole Greenland from Norway.”
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A claim that researchers describe as both incorrect and lacking historical evidence.
This article is brought to you by the Danish fact-checking media TjekDet. The article is a translation of a Danish version: Historisk spørgsmål udløser hidsig debat: Stjal Danmark Grønland fra Norge?
Greenland has once again come to everyone’s lips after Donald Trump’s statements that the United States needs Greenland as part of its national security against China and Russia.
During the night to Tuesday Danish time, Stephen Miller, who is Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, questioned what actually forms the basis for Denmark’s territorial claim to Greenland – and said that Greenland in reality should be part of the United States.
“The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?” he asked rhetorically during an interview with CNN.
The discussions about Greenland have also led to heated debates among users on social media, who are discussing Denmark’s and Greenland’s historical relations – and how Greenland originally came under the Danish kingdom.
In one of several posts, including on X, it is claimed that Denmark stole Greenland from Norway after the Napoleonic Wars in 1814.
“The decisive theft came in 1814: After the Napoleonic wars, Denmark was forced to give up Norway, but illegally kept Norway’s overseas territories: Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands,” reads one post, which has been seen more than 400,000 times on X.
However, that interpretation of Denmark’s takeover of Greenland is both wrong and without historical evidence, according to researchers whom TjekDet has spoken to.
Greenland’s historical ties to Norway and Denmark
The presence of Nordic peoples in Greenland begins in the 980s, when Norwegians who had emigrated to Iceland sail to Greenland. Erik the Red is the most famous of these Norsemen, and he also gave the country its name.
The Nordic presence in Greenland ceased during the 15th century, and contact with Greenland largely disappeared. Formally, however, the country remained under Norway, as a dependency together with Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
From the 1380s, when the Kalmar Union was formed, this changed slightly. The most important function of the Kalmar Union was a royal union, which meant that the Danish kings were also kings of Sweden and Norway and vice versa, and thus also kings of Norway’s dependencies.
However, it is only from the Reformation in 1536 that one can really speak of Greenland coming under the Danish crown, Emil Andersen, who is a researcher at the National Museum of Denmark and affiliated with the University of Copenhagen, explains.
“When Christian III is elected king, there is a special article in his coronation charter stating that Norway is to be placed under the Danish crown. Greenland is not specifically mentioned, but associated lands are, and Greenland is implicitly included,” he says.
This is where the connection between Greenland and Denmark really begins, because Denmark and Norway become closely linked – much more closely – than under the Kalmar Union, Emil Andersen elaborates.
From here there is a leap forward to 1721, when Norway – and thus Greenland – belongs under the Danish crown. But actual contact with Greenland is almost non-existent.
“Up until 1721 there is no administration of Greenland at all; it is purely pro forma that Greenland is mentioned as Danish-Norwegian territory,” says Emil Andersen.
But it is exactly in 1721 that the picture changes, because the connection to Greenland is resumed – especially from the Norwegian side – with Hans Egede, who, assisted by a Norwegian trading company in Bergen, becomes a missionary and the leader of the first colony in Greenland.
“In the first years it is largely Norwegians who come to Greenland as colonists, but after the Bergen Company goes bankrupt in 1727, most of the administration of the colonies is carried out from Denmark,” says Emil Andersen.
On this point, Søren Rud, who is a researcher in postcolonial relations at the University of Copenhagen, fully agrees.
“The colonial project in Greenland begins in 1721, and at that time it is the Danish king who makes the decisions and is the decisive authority in that context. The missionary project is rooted in Denmark,” Søren Rud explains.
Can one speak of a “theft”?
This is the picture of Denmark-Norway’s involvement in Greenland up until 1814, when Denmark loses The English Wars. The defeat leads to Denmark ceding Norway to Sweden at the Treaty of Kiel, but retaining/handed Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland in the negotiations, which were controlled by Great Britain, who stood as the victor after The English Wars.
It is precisely in this connection that users on social media argue that Denmark stole Greenland from Norway. But for both Søren Rud and Emil Andersen, there is nothing that indicates that this was the case.
“For me it is outright wrong,” says Søren Rud.
“It is complex to explain, but from a high political perspective there may have been an interest from England’s side that Sweden did not become too large a union – that is, that Sweden received both Norway, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland.”
“Another point is that Denmark up until 1814 administered the colonial project in Greenland, which is why the natural choice was for Denmark to continue to have control of Greenland,” Søren Rud explains.
Emil Andersen explains that one cannot speak of Denmark having stolen Greenland from Norway. There is nothing in the historical sources from the peace settlement that indicates this.
“Who made the decision is uncertain, and various theories have been put forward, but some historians have believed that it was England that negotiated it through. That it was their wish. There is nothing to suggest that it was the highest priority from the Danish negotiator’s side – or the Danish government’s side,” he explains.
Therefore, Emil Andersen also agrees with Søren Rud’s point that, from a higher political perspective, it made sense not to make the Swedish-Norwegian constellation geographically too large.
At the same time, Emil Andersen points out that Denmark was severely weakened after the The English Wars and in a poor position in the negotiations in Kiel. The most important thing was simply to preserve the integrity of the Danish kingdom – Zealand, Funen and Jutland and the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein.
“Denmark was set to lose The English Wars, and England, as the victor, could ultimately dictate the peace. That Denmark gets Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands simply appears as an additional element in the peace settlement in the treaty,” explains Emil Andersen.
After 1814 and onwards, Denmark and Greenland expand their exchange of goods with around 50 trading posts to bring the exchange closer to the Greenlanders. In 1849, Greenland did not receive the right to vote for the Rigsdag, but from 1857 they were given elected assemblies, so-called Forstanderskaber, to administer local affairs.
The United States recognises Danish sovereignty
The next dispute in the history of Denmark, Norway and, for that matter, also the United States’ involvement in Greenland happens in 1921.
This is precisely what Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s chief of staff, refers to in his statements about what territorial claims Denmark actually has to Greenland when set against the United States.
In 1921, Denmark declares sovereignty over all of Greenland – by agreement with the United States.
“In connection with the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States, a declaration is drawn up in which the United States writes that it will not oppose the Danish government extending its political and economic interests to all of Greenland,” explains Søren Rud.
Up to that point, Denmark had not declared actual sovereignty over the entire country, but had merely had various colonies in Greenland. This was also because up until the beginning of the 20th century there was no real geographical understanding of Greenland as a whole, he elaborates.
However, Denmark’s declaration of sovereignty ends in a territorial conflict with Norway over eastern Greenland, because the Norwegians challenge the sovereignty.
“Uncertainty arises over who has the right to this area, which actually ends up in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which in 1933 decides the conflict in Denmark’s favour,” Søren Rud says.
In 1953, Greenland’s status as a Danish colony ended, and the country became part of Denmark as a Danish county. In 1979, Greenland was granted home rule, and since 2009 Greenland has had self-government, which recognises that Greenland has the right to independence and changed the conditions for the transfer of areas of responsibility from the Danish state.
Despite this, Stephen Miller has nevertheless referred to Greenland as a Danish colony in an interview earlier this week.
